The Red Dragoness of Konoha
by SoaringOnWings
Summary: What if Team Seven and the rest of the Konoha 12 had another jounin that also instructed them? And who is this mysterious jounin that no one seems to know? KakaOC mild NaruHina SasuSaku


**A/N: A new Naruto fanfic by moi~ Although, I can't say that I've been updating my other fics so far. Reviews, favorites and follows are appreciated! ^^**

**-SoaringOnWings**

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><p>Chapter One<p>

The Sandaime Hokage lifted his eyes as his guest walked into the room and smiled, "So you're back from your mission, I assume."

"Hai, Sandaime-sama," his guest said with a small smile.

"And all was well?"

"Hai, Sandaime-sama. There was little resistance. Everything went as planned."

His "guest" was actually one of his elite guards—the youngest, to say the least—a woman of twenty-one years of age. Her wavy maroon hair was flowing freely down her back, and her hazel-green eyes twinkled brightly. She bore the standard jonin outfit and carried a large katana on her back. She wore her hitai-ate around her forehead, signifying her allegiance as a shinobi of the Leaf.

"You can drop the honorifics now, Akane-chan." He said to her. She nodded with a grin in response.

"Do you know why I called you in today?" the Sandaime asked with an air of elusiveness, smiling at the young woman he had known and, somewhat, raised for the past eleven years.

"Iie, Oji-sama," Akane replied curiously.

He turned and faced the window, looking at the night falling upon Konoha.

"I would like you to help train some of our new genin this year," he said after a momentary pause. "They, of course, have their own senseis, but I would like you to help the genin, as well as their jonin senseis, integrate their teamwork and abilities, a process I believe you know very well," he continued.

"You are one of the most skilled shinobi I have in my ranks and I'm not just saying that because I was one of the people that trained you," he said, turning back to her, "and I believe it's time that you start socializing with people other than Shikaku, Ibiki and the rest of my guards, ne?"

She smiled, "Arigato, Oji-sama. I will gladly oblige in assisting the genin."

He nodded as if he had anticipating her answer, "Good, good. Now, there are three new genin teams this year. Team 7, comprising of Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto, will be under the wing of Hatake Kakashi…if he passes them, that is. Team 8, consisting of Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba, will be under Yuuhi Kurenai's care. Team 10, Shikamaru Nara, Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Chouji, will be under my son's, Asuma's, tutelage."

She nodded, taking in all the information.

"I would like you to, foremost, attend Team Seven's genin test tomorrow and observe them. Discreetly, of course," the Sandaime said.

"Hatake-san's team? The one with the last Uchiha and the Kyuubi jinchuuriki? Is there a particular reason you wish for me to observe them first?" she inquired curiously.

"Let's just say that it will be interesting, to say the least. The dead last powerhouse, the last Uchiha and an Uchiha fangirl. It should be amusing to watch," the Sandaime said with an amused glint in his eyes. "I have no doubt that Kurenai and Asuma will pass their teams but Kakashi hasn't passed a team since he was assigned one," he resumed.

"But this time," he paused, "this time, I believe the results will be different."

"Whatever you wish, Oji-sama," she said with a bow.

"Good. You are dismissed. Also, after the genin test ends at noon, report to the Hokage Tower. I will formally introduce you to the senseis. If you like, we can also have a small assessment, to assure them that your skills are…passable," he said. "However, do not reveal to them the…other jutsus," he warned her. And on a lighter note, he added, "I'm glad you returned safely from your mission." She smiled and said a quick, "Arigato," before she lifted her hands in a single hand seal and disappeared in a swirl of fire.

* * *

><p>"So he wants me to watch them, eh?" she thought to herself as she walked through the hallways of the Hokage Tower. "They must be pretty interesting, if the old man thinks they're worth watching," she contemplated.<p>

"Ah, Akane-chan, how are you today?" Shikaku called out as she passed him deep in thought.

Her head snapped up as she recognized the voice of one of her few friends.

"Tell me, Shikaku-san," she requested, "what do you know about the team that was assigned to Hatake-san?"

"Ah, that team? Well, there is…" he replied, scratching his head.

"Uchiha Sasuke, the last Uchiha, full of arrogance, has a fangirl club, and is the top graduate of the academy and he was also given the title of Rookie of the Year."

"Haruno Sakura, highest kunoichi grades, from a civilian family and has uncanny pink hair. She is also a major fangirl of the Uchiha," he continued.

Then he paused, "Uzumaki Naruto, the jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tails, loud, dead last of the academy who apparently loves ramen."

She smiled, "But what do _you _think about them?"

He grinned, "So you want my true opinion on them?" She nodded.

He stroked his goatee, "Well, in my opinion, the one who is most likely to succeed out of them all would probably be…Naruto."

She looked surprised.

"He has the drive, the chakra reserves, the stamina and the goal," Shikaku told her honestly. "What is his goal?" she asked. "To become Hokage," he replied, "I'm surprised you don't know about it. After his prank on the Hokage's Monument, I'm surprised the whole village doesn't know about it." "He has a strange way of portraying it," Akane noted dryly.

"The main thing that stands out from him is his perseverance; the boy just never seems to give up!" he laughed. Then, he added as a sidenote, "which can be troublesome at times."

He went on, "Sasuke is too prideful, too arrogant, which will be the thing that hurts him in the long run, though, he certainly has the talent to become a great shinobi. He believes that, because he is the last Uchiha, he is able to do anything without repercussions."

He barked a laugh, "And the Haruno girl…she's far too stricken with the Uchiha that she can't even pay attention to anything else. She is very intelligent though, and could possibly have the ability to become a medical-nin in the future."

Akane looked puzzled, "You know all of this just from rumors?"

"Rumors—perhaps—but Shikamaru was in the same class as they were. These are actually his opinions. I may have just added on to them," he chuckled.

"I see," she stated.

"Well, I'm off! My wife won't be too pleased if I'm late for dinner!" Shikaku said with a wave, eyebrows furrowing at the thought of his ranting wife. "Troublesome," he muttered.

"Thank you Shikaku-san," Akane said, bowing to her superior.

"Maa, how many times do I have to tell you to just call me Shikaku? The 'san' makes me sound older than I am," Shikaku chuckled, looking at her almost sternly.

"But you are," she said, batting her eyelashes innocently.

"Tch. _Goodbye_ Akane-chan," he emphasized and grumbled as he walked away. Akane giggled. She loved getting on the man's nerves. It was just _so _amusing.

* * *

><p>The next day, she got up early and arrived at the training grounds that Team Seven was supposed to be at, thirty minutes ahead of time.<p>

"_Invisiblity no Jutsu,"_ she whispered as she used one of her original jutsus and blended into one of the trees in the area. She suppressed her chakra and masked her scent carefully, fully knowing that the silver-haired jonin would not be pleased if he sensed an unfamiliar chakra signature in the area.

It was around fifteen minutes later that the first genin arrived. It was the ever-so-gloomy Sasuke. After him came Sakura. And then Naruto.

And, after the first five minutes of hearing them bicker, Akane was already irritated and cringing as the young pinkette shrieked at the loud yellow-haired boy about picking on her precious "Sasuke-kun," while her "Sasuke-kun"—or Sasu-gay, Akane had deemed him—was 'brooding' under a tree, glaring at the two. At the appointed time that Kakashi had scheduled the test at, she sensed the silver-haired jonin arrive above in the trees but noticed that he did not advance forward.

"Where is baka-sensei? He's late!" Naruto complained, rather loudly, Akane noted. She would have burst out laughing at the nickname the blond had put on the teacher—that is—if she wasn't concealing her presence.

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><p>A couple hours passed and Akane finally sensed the jonin's movement. He had hopped off the tree branch he was on and casually walked toward the three irritated genin. "Yo," he greeted them.<p>

"You're late, sensei!" The pinkette and the blond yelled, the latter pointing an accusing finger toward the silver-haired man.

"Maa, gomen. There was an old lady crossing the street with groceries and I stopped to help her and, then, I saw a black cat and had to come here the long way," Kakashi deadpanned.

"Liar!" Naruto and Sakura yelled. Even Sasuke seemed a little irritated.

"Anyways, continuing with the test," Kakashi reached into his pocket and the three genin tensed, but relaxed again when they saw that he was only pulling out two bronze bells. "You have until noon to get these bells from me," he continued, wiggling the bells in front of them provokingly. "If not, you will fail and none of you will have another chance at becoming genin. If you do, only two of you will pass and one of you will fail. Got it?"

The genin only seemed a little shocked at the revelation but shrugged the instructions off. The pinkette spoke up with…concern on her face, "But Kakashi-sensei, won't you get hurt?"

The silver-haired jonin gave her an amused eye-smile, "Well, Sakura-chan, they don't make us jonin for nothing."

And, on a more serious note, he said, "Now, let's begin."

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><p>After the genin test, Akane went to her apartment and thought about the events that just occurred. She evaluated the three genin and the silver-haired jonin. The Uzumaki had, seemingly, never-ending stamina and chakra reserves but is also very loud and somewhat stupid. But, with time, it could be fixed and he could be transformed into a high-caliber shinobi.<p>

The Haruno girl was a disgrace to all kunoichi. She fell under a genjutsu; just seconds after the jonin had found her, she was incapacitated. She could not put up a fight and was weak overall. However, her broad knowledge could be put to use, and as Shikaku had suggested, she could become a medic-nin.

The Uchiha was an entirely different matter. He was arrogant, stuck-up and, almost, unwilling to cooperate with others. He has the capability to become a top-ranking shinobi, but is disinclined to be molded into one. He would probably be the hardest to fix out of the three.

Hatake Kakashi. He was lazy. But to make up for his laziness, he has talent. He is smart and thinks about his every move before executing it. His test was ingenious and he actually tested them on their teamwork rather than their abilities. He tested each one of them with a different field of shinobi jutsu (i.e. taijutsu, ninjutsu and genjutsu) and trapped them. Truly, he was a good sensei. However, he seems capable of favoritism, being that he engaged Sasuke in a fight for a longer period of time and gauged Sasuke's abilities more.

This would be very interesting assignment.

* * *

><p>The jonin-senseis arrived at the Hokage's Tower…well, everyone but the usually-tardy Kakashi. After the silver-haired jonin arrived, the meeting began.<p>

"Very well. Let's get started. Report the status of your teams," the Hokage instructed.

"Team Asuma is a 'go,'" the stocky, bearded man informed.

"Team Kurenai passed."

"Team Kakashi…," Kakashi hestitated dramatically, "pass."

Everyone but the Hokage seemed surprised.

"WHAT?!"

"You really passed them this time, Kakashi?" Kurenai asked incredulously.

"Hm," the jonin replied, eyes lifting briefly from the Icha Icha book he was reading.

The Hokage smiled. So, his predictions were true after all.

"Good. Now, everyone is dismissed but Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma," the Sandaime said with a wave of his hand. After everyone left, except the three jonin, Asuma asked, "Why are we still here, Otou-san?"

The Hokage smiled mischievously, "I have someone I want to introduce to you three."

He looked at the ceiling amusedly, "You can come down now, Akane-chan."

The maroon-haired jonin came down from her hiding spot with a soft landing, shocking the three jonin senseis that could not sense her presence or chakra signature.

* * *

><p>"Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, this is Ryoto Akane. She will be helping you and your genin teams on a weekly basis," the Sandaime introduced. Akane bowed at the three jonin.<p>

"If I may, can I ask why? Isn't that what we are here for?" Kurenai asked with an apologetic look at the red-haired jonin.

"Let's just say, it was on a whim, of some sorts. Akane specializes in all fields of shinobi arts with an exception with genjutsu. She will act as my eyes while you are training and will report to me on a daily basis," the Sandaime replied. "If you'd like, you all can test out her abilities yourselves in the jonin training center," he suggested with a small smile on his face.

"If it's okay with Ryoto-san, I would like to test her abilities," Kakashi spoke, receiving looks of surprise from the others.

"I would like to as well," Asuma said, sending a furtive glance at the silver-haired jonin. Kurenai also voiced her agreement, "As would I."

"That's fine with me," Akane said in a soft voice, for the first time in their brief meeting, startling the three jonin somewhat.

"Very well, let's head to the training center," the Hokage said, standing up. "Akane, can you inform my receptionist that I will be out for an hour or two?" With a nod, Akane disappeared in a swirl of fire, further surprising the jonin, as they hadn't seen a "shunshin" that dispersed with fire.

* * *

><p>As the Hokage and the three jonin went ahead, Kakashi spoke to the Hokage, "Who is Ryoto-san? I have never seen her amongst the jonin."<p>

"Akane just returned from a year-long mission. Previous to that, she was one of my elite guards. She never enlisted in the ANBU, nor did she mingle with other shinobi with the exception of Shikaku, Ibiki and my other guards," the Sandaime replied.

"Who did she train with?" Kakashi inquired further.

"She has trained with me, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Minato, Kushina and, in some aspects, Orochimaru," the Hokage informed them, without a moment of hesitation.

The three jonin stiffened. "She trained with two Hokages, an Uzumaki and the Sannin?!" Asuma choked, "Who is she exactly?"

Now Kakashi was interested, 'Minato-sensei, who is this girl that you taught?' Even though the Sandaime had provided them with a few facts about Akane's past, she still was under a cloak of mystery.

He put away his book, earning himself a few startled looks from the other jonin. Perhaps, this was a time for him to be serious.

He was going to look forward to this…skill assessment.


End file.
